Jerome thought--we may disagree on how far he was right--that his love of literature was keeping him from God, not JUST because it was pagan, but because he loved it more than God and his Word...and therefore he cut it out of his life.
I understand that it's not because of paganism that Cicero has to go—Jerome mentions earlier how he's distanced himself from his family, who are presumably good Christians as well—I just think that fundamentally I do not agree that if one is to be passionate about God, one must not be passionate about anything else.
But it's also supposed to be about reality; and the reality we live in is imperfect, and often sucks. As such, religion can't just be about the wonderfulness of the world: it has to deal with pain, and hard choices, and sacrifice.
When did I demand that religion be only about the wonderfulness of the world? I should only prefer it not to contribute to the pain.
And I third the hope that Jerome is now reading some well-written, fun literature (I would choose Cicero myself, but...)
(Myself, I am not passionate about Cicero. But I can get behind Plautus.)
no subject
I understand that it's not because of paganism that Cicero has to go—Jerome mentions earlier how he's distanced himself from his family, who are presumably good Christians as well—I just think that fundamentally I do not agree that if one is to be passionate about God, one must not be passionate about anything else.
But it's also supposed to be about reality; and the reality we live in is imperfect, and often sucks. As such, religion can't just be about the wonderfulness of the world: it has to deal with pain, and hard choices, and sacrifice.
When did I demand that religion be only about the wonderfulness of the world? I should only prefer it not to contribute to the pain.
And I third the hope that Jerome is now reading some well-written, fun literature (I would choose Cicero myself, but...)
(Myself, I am not passionate about Cicero. But I can get behind Plautus.)